Sympathy For Martin Jol

Here at Vital Arsenal we have poked much fun at our neighbours and their manager, maybe too much at times but the banter is all good in this game of football, but this evening I felt genuine sympathy for Martin Jol.

I won't pretend I think he was a great manager, infact I feel he was a poor tactician and a very questionable man manager, but he did ok for Spurs.

Since the arrival of Martin Jol, the old rivalry between the two factions of North London has been reignited, the fact that Spurs ran us to the last day of the season two terms ago meant comments between the two sets of supporters flowed freely, and that was all down to Jol.

I've stated on many occasions that I'm not only an Arsenal fan, but a football fan and a human being, and the latter thirds of that equation witnessed an incident at tonight's UEFA cup clash at White Hart Lane that made me sick to the stomach.

Shortly after half time, news began to break that Martin Jol had handed in his resignation (yeah right) and with the match nicely poised at 1-1 the news audibly began to spread around the stadium.

With my Stella bottle empty I ventured into the kitchen in search of a colder, fuller version. As the bottle cap flew off I heard the screams of Peter Drury telling me that Spurs had conceded, and not for the first time this season I allowed myself a chuckle.

I rejoined my empty sofa to enjoy this moment of pure comedy, only to have the smile wiped from my face by the dirty grin of another. As the replay came to an end, footage turned to the directors area of the Lane where we were treated to an image of a Spurs big wig having something whispered in his ear immediately after the ball hit the net. Upon hearing what had been said, what can only be described as a 'slimey wankerish grin', slowly appeared on the face of Daniel Levy.

It doesn't take a genius to work out the kind of thing that had been said and to be laughing as the team you are responsible for have just surrendered a lead in an important European game is unforgivable.

As football fans we are often treated to moments of loathing and disgust that we can barely comprehend, but the image of this smiling arsehole is something else entirely.

So, whilst the demise of the Lily Whites brings me extreme satisfaction, the way Martin Jol has been treated gives me no pleasure at all, infact I feel genuine sorrow for the fella.

He's probably better off out of there anyway.

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I say Gray, Hansen, Lineker or Shearer. They all seem to know much more than we do and obviously could do a much better job than Jol, Wenger, Sir Alex or any other Manager. I mean these guys know it all. Let them put their co*ks on the block. Yeah Right Bunch of To*sers. All I can say as much as I dislike Jol. he's a far better man the Levi will ever be. Long live Wenger, the greatest Manager there is.

One of the reason Arsenal and Man Utd are so successful is because they're gien constant backing from the board. But then again, if the Spuds think they can really get 4th place then they're obviously havin a larf

Levy is a (unt.
Jol should have walked after 2 games when it was clear they wanted him out. This better work, cos Levy has just ruined the best thing we've had in a long time. Sure results this season have been dire, but i truly believe that it was a consequence of sounding out Ramos. If Ramos comes he better win the ******** league or he'll probably find a big knife in his back from Levy

Of course you wouldn't have a hint of mirth if our board had conducted themselves in this manner. You'd be crying in your cornflakes if Wenger had been treated in this way. Fair play to Rocky, fatherhood has obviously got him 'niced up', fortunately it hasn't done the same for me. I'm sure the £4m golden handshake will ensure that Elmo Putney isn't selling the Big Issue tonight.

Yeah, that's why I mentioned Levy...talking to another manager behind Jol's back, then denying that this was done, only for Ramos himself to admit that it took place, was just a disgusting thing to do to the best manager they've had in a couple of decades. And it's obvious it destabilized the team...even though I thought they were massively overrated headed into the season with some terrible buying decisions, they're still a solid team with good talent that should be far better then their current position. Last night is just icing on the cake...Jol deserved better, far better.

Martin Jol is a (unt. I don't have any sympathy for him at all. He has done nothing but slag off Arsenal since the day he took over & I will never forget the way he shouted at the spuds players to 'play on' in the last game at highbury, which could easily have cost us our champions league place. The fat w***er even denied saying it despite the fact he was caught on microphone. He was touting himself around in the summer, trying to find a champions league club but it didn't work & now the spuds board have had the sense to get rid of the loser!!

I'm with Jacky on this one tbh. I would never stop playing if 2 oppositopn players done that. We've moaned about Eboue's antics ourselves plenty of times. Can you image TA and Nigel Winterburn doing that if the Spud's were on the offensive?

No point in me even trying to pretend I'm sorry for Jol or Spuds, If you promise your Board to deliver a 4th place, and then not only FAIL, but you FAIL in a way that makes other EPIC FAILiures look relatively insignificant. then you should see it coming and take responsibility for said FAILiure. As for them Spuds fans...at least the Ticket prices are much more resonable at Watford and Plymouth and so on. Cheerioo tossers

should be the spurs board that should resign, the way they sent their heirachy to spain to sound out the employed seville coach was laughable and then deny it is even more shameful. Poor BMJ just sits there and takes it, i feel sorry for him too, Levy and co have alot to answer to, big fat kemsley sitting there last night, didn't he resign his position too ? I can understand sacking a manager after a game, but before ? and then coming out with he resigned, what a joke ! if he gets any form of compensation we will know he got sacked. he wasn't the greatest of managers, but he did guide them to 5th in the league twice, so what has made him a bad manager ? the board perhaps ? problem is, what manager will want to come to spurs after they have seen how they treat managers, certainlyt not any class ones thats for sure.

Completely agree with every word in this article. Daniel Levy and the Spu*rs board have all the moral integrity of a snake. Leaking such news during a European home match and the image of their conspiratorial whispers and sneering smirks when THEIR OWN TEAM went behind last night should make any fan at that club sick to the stomach. Disgraceful treatment of a manager who took them as far as they could go and to sack 30-year club servant Hughton beggars belief. Hope they get relegated like "too big to go down" Leeds and West Ham.

topspur1, while i always love to poke fun at spurs, i don't feel like dooing it with Jol, if i were a spurs fan i would be calling for the board to resign and get a board in that acts with some dignity, humility and respect.

I bet. Just a footnote Topspur, do you think that Jol tried to create a difficult situation for levy by resigning before the game whilst expecting his team to stuff Getafe? He knows his fate was sealed anyway and by doing that he'd have had the whole crowd turning against the board in support of Jol. By getting beat his plan backfired and it all ended up being a bit of a damp squid farewell. It would explain Kemsley's joy at going 2-1 down and his whispering to Levy.

and also, chris houghton, no wonder they both looked shell shocked during the game. the poor guy has been your most loyal servant, knows the club inside out, and he gets the boot too ! whislt i jest about being in the bottom 3 i always thought spurs under Jol wouldn't go down, now i am not so sure and we may look back on this day as the downfall of a club falling from top flight football, like leeds, west ham and nottingham forest.

My understanding hatespur! Is that the decision to sack Jol was taken after the Newcastle game; unfortunately it took till yesterday to iron out his compensation package. It was then decided that it would not be a good time to tell the player’s jus before a game of that importance, also the sporting director for Saville was at the game last night. He was apparently negotiating compensation for Ramos, that's the inside track I believe

I have sympathy for EVERYBODY working at *****e hard lane, say what you want, they are human beings and nobody, players, managers or tea ladies deserve such a terrible lot in life. To what end are they made to suffer? Why do the powers that be keep such a joke of a club running? But hey, free will is a bitch, Martin!

People have been stoned in a more classy way than Levy has treated Jol. I think he was an overated spin merchant right out of the Arthur Daly school of management but there is a way to go about replacing a manager and they messed up big time. When we got rid of Rioch we had a replacement lined up and even had 2 players of Wengers choice signed before he arrived, the rest is history. If the non English speaking Ramos doesnt adapt to the premiership (think Santini, Gross) Sp*rs are going down.

Slightly different but kind of related subject because this has something to do with Jol's demise. As much as the Champions League is a great Cup, I was thinknig last night it's in some ways made things a lot worse. Previously, there was only one champion in the respective leagues; everyone else from second place down weren't winners. Now there are 4 teams that can feel like they've won something which completely devalues finishing outside the top 4. If Arsenal were ever to start consistently finishing outside a Champs league spot, how awful would that feel?

Iceman! I believe that Jol knew he was going in the summer, what ever he did this season. I think spurs believed that he was not good enough to compete with any of the managers of the current top 4 clubs. However! If we get Ramos, you may find him a different proposition. He came within 2pts of winning the Spanish league

Yes but he came within 2 points of winning La Liga with good players, not a defesive unit with more holes than a sieve. Unless someone admits that Ledley King is the ONLY good defender you have, then you'll be going nowhere.Also your midfield is well below par!!

Yep...The spanish league. Not the English premiership...When Benitez 1st came he actually worsened Liverpools Premiership position in his 1st season but of course he won the Champions league (A style of football he was used to). Ramos has a good track record the past few years but if he takes time to adapt are local Derby next year will be a pre season friendly with Islington St Marys!

Rocky7! Theirs nothing wrong with the players, they just aren't organised and are not defending as a unit. Any half decent coach will get them defending better than they are at the moment, Oh by the way iceman10! with Islington St Marys are a decent side

nothing wrong with your players ? what sulk berbatov refusing to warm up against newcastle ? oh yeah that shows what a big player he is doesn't it ! jenas, malbranque, the animal kaboul who should of seen red for that challenege last night, yeah good players huh ? the only player that would get into our reserves is Bale, the rest are not bad championship side players, which they will soon be :)

I think you've got some very overated players Topspur. Only Sulkatov and King (When fit) would have a chance of getting in a top 4 team. St Marys were a class outfit , they had a dynamite right winger a few years back :)

iceman, whilst i feel sorry for Jol, i do laugh at spurs fans who believe they will sign a world class coach and he will guide them into 4th, you know its coming, we will hear , watch out arsenal , spurs will overtake us soon ! what they fail to see is its the board thats the biggest problem, ya just got to laugh at that sad lot, one slight glimmer and they believe they will be a top 4 side soon.

it'll take ramos a few years to build his own team and impress his style on them. I wonder if the board will allow him the freedom and give him the time. This season will clearly be worth remembering for all the wrong reasons, if you're a spud.

jackie B do you remember this?? When you mouth of beware you dont fall in it.
LEDLEY KING last night insisted that no club in the Premier League will be able to live with Tottenham’s four-pronged striking threat this season.
With Robbie Keane, Darren Bent, Dimitar Berbatov and Jermain Defoe all vying for places up front, Martin Jol has a formidable array of talent at his disposal as he looks to overtake neighbours Arsenal and get into the top four and beyond.
King said: “It’s very exciting to have four strikers like that in the same squad. We’re very lucky.
“I’ve heard people trying to say it won’t work because they’re all too similar. But we know the truth. They are all different – apart from the fact that they all score goals.
“When I look at the Premier League I don’t think any teams have a collection of four strikers as good as we have. Not many clubs in the world have strikers of their quality and ability. They’re all internationals.
ì
We’ve been fifth two seasons running and the natural progression is to finish in the top four now.
î
Ledley King
“We know from what they’ve done before that all of them can score in the Premier League, and that’s great going into the season.”
Spurs, who have finished fifth in the Premiership for the past two seasons, have gone for broke by bringing in more than £30million worth of talent in a bid to clinch a Champions League place.
Among those signings was £16.5m Bent, who hit 15 goals for Charlton last season as they just failed to secure top-flight survival.

I repeat Jol is a ****. He is always portrayed as the good honest guy, but its complete bulls**t, he is nothing but a liar. All these poor deluded spuds fans who are crying about how he was treated, yet why don't they ask themselves why he was trying to engineer a move to a champions league club this summer, he had several meetings with potential suitors but the fact was none of them wanted him & he believed he was getting the chelski job (even though mourinho was still in charge). Spuds have spent 81 million on players since the summer of 2006, so they should be a champions league club. The fact they aren't is down to a woeful manager, who was great at talking, mainly about himself & how fantastic he is, but a good PR man nonetheless.

No sympathy here, sympathy for a guy on a wage like that? no feckin chance, I reserve any sympathy I have for those less fortunate and way more deserving within our society not bloody footy managers, the only character I have the remotest shred of sympathy for in this whole sorry ass debacle is Paul Kernsleys wife, holy beard of Zeus! can you imagine being steam rollered by that blubbery behemoth? she just HAS to go on top for the sake of survival!

I feel sorry for Jol but you have to laugh at the Spuds. All that deluded b0llocks about finishing 4th this eeason (despite finishing further behind us than they did the season before) has been shown up for what it was. I do think their board has acted stupidly and disgracefully in this whole business. He was the best boss they've had in years, and maybe he didn't have what it took to get them to 4th - but then maybe he just didn't have the PLAYERS to get them to 4th. Does any Spud seriously think they have a better squad than us or any other top 4 team? They are kidding themselves.

Does this season get any better?! Christ, I keep thinking I'm going to wake up from this utterly amazing dream where Arsenal are top of the league, Champions league group, unbeaten in all competitions, Chelski are dire, and spuds are in the relegation zone and mangerless. Just...Awesome.

Hey, Topspur1, did you hear about the one where police found this dead transvestite hooker, who hasn't shaved for months and has one testicle? When the police found him, they yelled "Digusting! He's wearing a Spurs shirt!".

I don't know why people think Spurs don't have a chance of being relegated. Yes, Spurs do have a few good players, though most are not really all that special, but in 2003 didn't the likes of West Ham, a team consists of good players like Kanoute, Joe Cole, Di Canio, etc. were relegated.

if ramos goes to spurs i will be seriously p*ssed off. Even if i wasnt an Arsenal fan I wouldn't if I was him for all the usual reasons (no champions league etc...) but also spurs just are not his team. They dont have the right players for him. But he does want to manage in the Prem...

I dont like Jol and he is an average manager but throughout this final episode he behaved with a dignity that spurs as a club did not deserve. I was hoping Jol would stay but now without him I hope they suffer.

If you trawl back through the Spuds sight you will see I predicted all of this. Bent will be a flop Berbatov will be a one season wonder Lennon is a one trick pony King will never play 100% again Dawson is useless Jenas shold never play for Spurs, never mind England Their summer transfers were useless and finally - Jol has the tactical knowledge of a cabbage Nice to be right. I for one am sorry to see him go, because with him in charge everyone has a chance of beating them. Hope they rot in the Championship.

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